Children of Color Need to Attend WordCamp and KidsCamps (836 hits)

Children of Color Need to Attend WordCamp and KidsCamps
by William Jackson
WordCamp Volunteer, Speaker, Organizer,
Sponsor and Advocate

Technology camps, STEM camps, STEAM camps
and even WordCamps for kids (KidsCamp) are
exploding across the nation and even globally.
Bursting at the doors with kids wanting to learn
to code, program, grow and develop into
entrepreneurs, business owners and become
million and billionares using tech.
The kids that are talented with their minds
not with a ball, glove, shoes, sticks, or any
other appendage that extends their participation
in sports or even entertainment.
The 21st century is calling children of color
to engage in conferences where their minds are
important. The color of their skin does not matter,
but the mentality behind it in too many cases does
not change. It is ok to be smart and geeky or
a blerd (Black Nerd) #blerd.

Parents of color need to register their kids, teens,
and even young adults for KidsCamp and WordCamp.
To learn how to network, collaborate, cooperate and
work with the diversity the world has to offer.
KidsCamp at WordCamp Miami, WordCamp Jacksonville
and WordCamp Atlanta and others is a special time
for parents and their children to learn about technology
together.
The key world is TOGETHER, a world of discovery,
unity, innovation, fun and building memories. Parents
of color too many times say their child knows more
than they do with tech, take the time to do something
together!

Children are learning about WordPress development,
design, coding, java, Podcasting, Vblogging,
Microblogging and user skills.
The great thing is that kids will walk away from
KidsCamp with their very own WordPress.com website.
How cool is that!!!
Parents must prepare their children to move beyond
manual labor jobs (just over broke) and into thought
leadership career paths that create leadership
opportunities, management opportunties, financial
stability and the ability to travel.
One of the curses of children of color is that too many
do not get out of their neighborhoods to explore the
world around them. They seem to be stuck with no
exposure to the future.

Parents of color possess "techno-fear" while children
of color are experiencing "techno-joy." Terms used
by the British comedian Eddie Izzard.
In my paraphrasing parents with techno-fear are
hesitant, fearful, and worry that technology will
cause the end of the world. The joy is in children
with techno-joy are optimistic about their futures,
careers, opportunity to get out of the "hood," and
grow beyond the limitations that are set in front
of them.
Eddie Izzard has stated about tech, "when I get a new
machine I think, “Yes! This machine will save my life,
I’ll never work again!” Technology allows for the
imagination to expand beyond the physical
distractions around kids.

Too many parents of color want sports and
entertainment to be the key, but they do not realize
that less than 5% of kids make it to stardom and may
even fall into financial ruin, drug dependency, lose
educational opportunities and
other mental and emotional challenges.
Understand that technology is VITAL for children
of color to even sit at the table and compete, they
must have skill-sets that allow them to understand
how technology works, how to apply technology and
the process of networking and colloboration.
Understanding technology is vital, it builds thought
leadership skills, it allows for exploration and
innovation to be contemplated and the imagination
to broaden the mental reach of children of color.
The scariest thing for children of color is to state
they have no dreams, no aspirations and no goals
beyond just living and surviving.

Humanity should be taught first, but children of
color are lacking the humanity of seeing the world
beyond video games that display s*x, drugs, death
and repeated stereotypes of people of color. Instead
of children of color and families of color being
consumers of technology, they should be taught to
be producers of Apps, web development, programmers,
coding, robotics builders, journalists and more.
Technology is helping humans to solve many of lifes
challenges, but the challenges are still faced because
of lack of direction by parents of color to apply
technology so children of color see a better future.
We all need to be part of the solution to get children
of color to move with a direction of purpose, thought,
dreams, goals and intellectualism.

If parents do not take advantage of WordCamps,
KidsCamps and Tech Camps then their children may
continue to be un-exposed, underemployed and
unemployable because of the lack of skill-sets that
are needed now and in the future.
If know one knows them they will be lost in a see
of invisibility, networking is key to building
a Brand and building content around that Brand.